The Exalted Duelist
by GlitchWarrior
Summary: Joey gets Fire Emblem Cipher cards. Normal, right? They come with what is basically Chrom as a Duel Spirit, telling him that while it may seem like a game, his duels from here on out could mean the difference between world safety and the resurrection of Grima. Uh... Not so normal.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello there. So, a lot of you may know that I am interested in Yu-Gi-Oh. Some of you may also know that I am a Fire Emblem fan as well.**

**Well, guess what that ended up making.**

**CHAPTER ONE**

**The Journey Begins- Part I**

* * *

"Attention, all KaibaCorp technology users," spoke the snide voice on the television. "I am pleased to announce that DuelDisk model 3.0 is about to be released to the general public!"

"Yadda yadda," Joey said, mimicking Kaiba's mouth movements with his hand, as the CEO continued to rant on and on about the several quality-of-life improvements that the 3.0 DuelDisk offered. "Not like I really need an upgrade anyway." He wiped off a spot on his 1.3 model. "After all, this baby is all I'll ever need!"

"And in addition to all of that," continued Kaiba, "this model supports even more types of card. And I'm not just talking about Duel Monsters anymore."

Joey dropped his cloth. "Uhh... what?"

"From this release onward, support for games other than Duel Monsters goes live! Pokemon, Magic, Cipher, even that one obscure Digimon card game, it's all available with more to come in the future. So get those disks ready, duelists. KaibaCorp Dueling Systems just opened up the field of play by two hundred percent."

Serenity turned off the TV. "Why do you even bother?" she asked. "It's not like you like him or anything."

"I wasn't watchin' it for Kaiba," Joey stubbornly explained. "It was about the new Duel Disk. I mean, did you SEE that thing?"

"You _just_ said that you wouldn't need a replacement."

"Well, uh..." He decided to change the topic. "Anyway... why were YOU still watchin'?"

Serenity promptly grabbed the nearest book in the room and swung.

* * *

Of all the days to be Joey Wheeler, today was certainly not a good one. He'd been whacked by his sister via a book, and he CERTAINLY couldn't afford whatever new DuelDisk system Kaiba was releasing. He had, however, decided he wanted to find a new hobby that day.

He was poking around the Muto family game shop that afternoon, trying to decide what game to get into, when the door rang open. The cashier, Solomon, looked up. "Can I help you today?"

"As a matter of fact, I was looking for your grandson."

Joey froze. He knew that voice all too well. A voice he had just heard earlier, but not in person. A voice that made him want to walk right up to the speaker and punch him in his smug, expensive face.

That was Seto Kaiba's voice.

"Ah, uh..." stuttered Solomon, remembering what had happened the last time he had been in the same room as Kaiba, "I'll... fetch him." He threw the door behind the counter open. "Yugi?" he called.

"Yeah, grandpa?" called back Yugi's voice.

"Uh... Mr. Kaiba wants to see you."

Silence for a solid five seconds. Then, Yugi's reply:

"Well, all right, I'll be right down."

Joey decided it was time to act. He stood up and walked to face his rival. "What'sa matter, Kaiba?" he asked. "Finally decide that Yug's too much for you?"

"As a matter of fact," declared Kaiba, "I came to offer him a chance to join a tournament involving my third generation of duel disks. But you've caught me on a good day, Wheeler, so I'll bite. What do you want from me?"

"Well, uh..." He literally had no answer. "Nothing, I just, uh..."

"I respect Yugi as a rival about as much as you like him as a friend, Wheeler," the CEO stated. "Is it too much to ask that I pay him a visit every once in a while?"

"I just didn't think you were the type."

"Watch yourself," Kaiba said. "I'm not about to let you ruin my day."

"Why you-"

Luckily, before Joey could do anything rash, Yugi arrived through the stairs. It took less than two seconds for him to separate the blonde and the brunette. "Both of you," he said, "settle down! I don't want you two getting into a fight!"

"Oh, look," Kaiba announced. "It's the man of the hour. Yugi, can I ask you a favor?"

"Uh... sure?"

"Starting this Friday, I'm holding a tournament to demonstrate my third-generation DuelDisk system. It's a Cipher tournament, so your reputation as a strong Duel Monsters player means basically nothing..."

"And?"

Kaiba smiled. "I was hoping you would participate, Yugi. You're a known legend when it comes to Duel Monsters, but the world of other card games- and games in general- has less to work with. Even if you lose, it'll still be a way to broaden your horizons."

Yugi shrugged. "Well, when you put it that way, I almost feel obligated. I'll meet you for the tournament on Friday."

"Which gives you time to test this out," Kaiba said, snapping his fingers. One of his workers brought a pair of 3.0 DuelDisks to the table. "It's all you're going to need to participate, short of a deck, anyway."

"Okay, but why are there two?"

At this, Kaiba looked at Joey. "Figured I'd throw the dog a bone. Maybe he's better at commanding imaginary soldiers than ancient monsters."

Joey tried to object, but Yugi stopped him. "We appreciate it, Kaiba."

To this, Seto smirked. "Just make sure I don't change my mind about giving these to you two. I was honestly already debating leaving Wheeler out of this entirely, but he DID place second in Duelist Kingdom, and fourth in Battle City." He turned to leave. "Don't disappoint me, Yugi. And that goes double for your friend there."

As Kaiba left, Joey turned to Yugi, his usual aura of confidence now shaken. "Yuge... I think I might need help."

* * *

"Why am I not surprised?" Tristan declared, after Joey explained to the entire group that he had no idea how Cipher was even played.

"Oh, WAIT," Duke concluded. "Maybe it's because the guy's too rash and hotheaded to actually plan out a battle."

"Both of you, calm down," Yugi said. "Look, I have some spare cards upstairs. You can borrow them and make a deck from those!"

Joey smiled. "Thanks, Yuge, but it wouldn't really be MY deck. Just your deck that I built. I need to get my own cards."

"Well, OK," Yugi announced. "I mean, I could've just given you some of my extras to keep. I think we can arrange THAT later. But a basic guideline of how to play would help..."

"Hey, I know!" Duke realized. "Hey, Bakura! Why don't we go a round, so Joey can see how the game goes?"

The silver-haired boy shrugged. "I don't suppose it would be TOO wrong," he announced. "It just so happens that I left my deck in my bag. I'll grab it!"

He rushed downstairs, as Duke grabbed his own deck. In stark contrast to Duel Monsters cards, these cards had a blue backing with a shield mark in the center. "All right, Joey," he announced, "watch carefully." He began looking through his deck, finding a card. "You normally start a Cipher game off by taking a level one card from your deck and playing it face-down." He did just that, picking a single card from his set and laying it on the table. As he did so, Bakura returned, and selected his own card.

"The cards we just played are our main characters," Bakura said, "although some people call the card their 'lord' card. My goal is to defeat Duke's main character before he defeats mine. The next move we make is, we each draw six cards."

"Yeah," Duke added, "but if we don't like our hands, we can go back and draw a new one- only once, though." He drew his hand. "That said... I kinda like what I've got here. Bakura?"

"I'm good," Bakura declared. "The last thing we do is lay five cards from the top of our deck over on the left."

"All right," Joey said, "I'm lost."

"These cards are Orb cards," explained Bakura. "Each time our main characters would be defeated in battle, we take an Orb instead. If we have no Orbs to take, though, our lord is killed and we lose. Does that make sense?"

"Kinda...?"

"All right," Duke said. "Bakura, are you ready for this?"

"Of course I am," Bakura said, flipping up his Main Character. "I've been preparing for Edelgard to take the field for quite some time." The card he revealed depicted a woman with silver hair, a red cape and pale lavender eyes. The card itself had a brown border.

_**(BAKURA'S M.C. Edelgard, Descendant of Hresvelg. (ATK 40, SUPP. 20 RNG. 1)**_

Duke smiled. "So you're leading with Edelgard, huh?" he confirmed. "Well, I only have one card I'm gonna be leading with." He flipped his main character, revealing a young boy with green hair and deep blue armor. The card border was colored a deep red. "All right, Alm- this is your quest!"

**_(DUKE'S MC: Alm, Ambitious Youth. (ATK 40, SUPP. 20 RNG. 1)_**

* * *

The two duelists began spiraling into a description of the deeper rules of the game. Bonding allies, evading attacks, declaring skills, and so forth. With every move, Joey only found himself even more lost. By the time that they were talking about promotion bonuses, he'd still been struggling to understand that you could only deploy allies whose card borders matched at least one of your Bond cards.

"...So, in conclusion," Bakura finished, "not only do I use the "Class Change Cost" to promote Caspar rather than his deployment cost, thereby allowing me to maintain bonds for additional deployment, I also get to draw an additional card."

"And you can also Level Up units," Duke continued, "by playing a copy of the same tier of unit on top of that unit. But you don't get to draw or use the Class Change cost for that."

"Okay," Joey said, "I think I get it. But... Just so everyone else can know... you wanna run that by us again?"

"You're hopeless," Tristan decreed.

* * *

By the end of the game, both players' Graveyards- or, as they were called in this game, Retreat Areas- were overflowing. But Bakura managed to gain the upper hand by deploying Petra, an assassin who could flat-out kill ANY unit, at the cost of missing her next turn. He then used Petra to take out Lukas, the front-line knight who was keeping Alm from harm, which was immediately followed by Bakura's Lord (the class, not the character), Claude, getting a lucky support and taking down Duke's last frontline unit, Saber. This lured the farmboy into striking range from Edelgard, and Bakura easily landed the final blow.

How did Joey understand this? Simple. He didn't.

"I'm not gonna be worth squat in Kaiba's tournament," he complained to himself as he returned to his house. When he arrived home, though, he found a box lying on the desk. There was a note attatched.

You're the only hero I'll ever need, big brother,

Joey sighed thankfully as he unwrapped Serenity's present. What he hadn't expected to find was a pack of fifty blue-colored Cipher cards.

How did she know?

He began sifting through the cards, one by one. As he looked through the characters, he began to understand. Somebody probably told her. It was probably Tristan or Duke. Trying to earn points with Serenity, of course.

Joey finally found a single card that Serenity had wrapped seperately. He opened it up, to see a man's face staring at him. The man had blue hair, and wore a white cape. He had a steel guard over his left shoulder. The right shoulder was barren, revealing some sort of birthmark.

"You know," said a stern voice, "it's not polite to stare."

Joey turned around and swung his fist. Whatever was behind him, though, seemed unaffected by his punch. In fact, Joey phased right through the speaker.

He looked up nervously, and recognized the speaker as the ghostly form of the man from his card.

"I hope I didn't scare you," the man said. "Please, can I ask your name?"

It was around then that Joey blacked out.

* * *

_"Did you prepare it?"_

_"Of course I did. Soon, this world will fall to Master Grima."_

_"We failed to resurrect his spirit centuries ago. We shall not fail again."_

_"But sir... How shall we conquer?"_

_"It's simple. Our first order of business... eliminate that meddling Exalt."_

* * *

**And end first chapter. Honestly, it could have been better, but this is the best I could do. So, long story short, this story is basically a Yu-Gi-Oh story where the characters are playing Fire Emblem Cipher. Joey is the hero of this tale, and he'll be using an Awakening deck, with Chrom as his main lord... and also, as a sort of spirit counterpart. Think of him as Joey's own personal Yami.**

**In other news, the Grimleal are back. Yaaaaay.**

**Anyway, I hope you guys liked the introduction to this chapter. All cards pictured actually DO exist in FE Cipher as of the date I'm writing this. I am not using set rotation, though, so even cards that have long since passed out of format are going to appear here.  
**

**Oh, and if you think I have too many fanfics? I agree. Doesn't mean I won't go back to the other ones though.**

**Review, please. It tells me your thoughts on this story.**


	2. Chapter 2

**How is it that I'm just now realizing that Cipher is a very writer-unfriendly game? I had this great idea, but now it's starting to feel like a slog. At least Duel Monsters has ways to incorporate turn-by-turn action.**

**I might need some help.**

**Chapter Two**

**The Journey Begins: Part II**

* * *

Joey's eyes opened. He was lying on the floor. How did that happen?

"I see you're awake now."

He groaned. This had to be a dream of some sort. There was no way his trading card was talking to him. He was hallucinating- yeah, that was it. That had to be it.

"There are better places to take a nap than on the ground, you know."

He began to sit up, seeing the prince's still-astral form in front of him. He slapped himself, trying to wake himself up. No luck. The man in blue still stood in front of him.

"Er... Have I done something wrong?" the man asked. "You look perplexed."

"You're sayin' that?" asked Joey, still confused. "I'm the one who's going crazy here! I mean, it's not like you're really here or anything..."

"There's more going on here than meets the eye," the man told Joey. "Oh, but where are my manners?"

"Maybe you left 'em in the deck?"

The man chuckled. "That's a good one. But really, I have to introduce myself. My name is Chrom, and I'm the leader of a mercenary company in the kingdom of Ylisse, as well as the ruling Exalt's younger brother."

"Yeah, whatever," groaned the blonde. He was losing his mind. He needed to get himself checked in with the doctor. "And me... You can call me Joey. Not that we'll have much time to chat..."

"I'm afraid that window has already closed," Chrom announced. "I can't just leave you. Trust me, Frederick tried to make me, but I seem to be spiritually bound to you."

"Frederick?"

"The captain of my guard."

Now Joey KNEW he was mentally ill.

"You... don't seem to believe me," the mercenary said. "But trust me, my entire crew is with me... or, more accurately, with _you._"

"Huh?" asked Joey.

"Check the deck your sister gave you. Myself, Frederick, and many more from my posse are at your command."

Joey rolled his eyes. This was a joke, right? He grabbed the blue deck, and began flipping card to card... Each character present had a name.

Miriel. Stahl. Maribelle. Vaike. Sully. _Frederick._ Lissa. Ricken. Sumia. And Chrom at the head of them all.

"You missed Kellam," Chrom helpfully added.

"Ok, that's enough," Joey shouted, annoyed. "Whatever kinda sick joke you're playing on me, I've had it! Who's even in charge of this dumb thing! It's Kaiba, isn't it! When I get my hands on him-"

"At ease," Chrom told him. "I'm certain that none of your friends or enemies is responsible for my appearance, not directly at least. I suppose I'm what you'd call a spirit partner, Joey. A sheperd to take care of the sheep." As soon as the words left Chrom's mouth, he instantly seemed to regret it. But he couldn't take it back.

"So you callin' me a sheep now, are ya?" roared the duelist. He swung his fist at Chrom, forgetting he was attacking a spirit in his haste. He failed miserably, clumsily falling on his face.

"I'm sorry," the spirit hastily said. "That was insensitive. I should have been more careful with my words."

"All right, li'l princeling, I'll play your game," Joey said. "What do I need to know?"

Chrom crossed his arms. "There is an ancient evil growing in the heart of this city. I have a feeling that the leaders of an ancient cult known as the Grimleal are behind it, and fear that if they succeed in their goal, they will unleash the world's greatest slumbering terror upon it."

"Ancient evil?" Joey winced. "Like I haven't heard anythin' like that before. I've fought against cheating bugboys, a psycho Egyptian with a mind-control stick, a Leviathan, and everything in between. I think I can take whatever evil you're talkin'."

Chrom simply shook his head. "It isn't that simple. Even my ancestors, the first exalt and his family, were unable to defeat the Fell Dragon, Grima, without great loss to their army. He truly is a terror beyond all comprehension. Which is why we must prevent his resurrection at all costs."

For a long time, neither the duelist or the exalt-to-be spoke. Then, Joey finally said something.

"Okay, let me get this straight," he said. "Even if I'm willing to believe that this ancient evil guy Grima is gonna kill everyone if we don't stop his return, and even if I'm willing to suspend my disbelief that you're a guardian angel of some sort, how would we even go about beatin' them anyway?"

"Well," Chrom said, smiling, "what would your friends do in this situation?"

Joey paused, thinking. He knew exactly what was about to happen, and he didn't exactly like it. Every time he and Yugi got wrapped up in a tournament, ESPECIALLY one hosted by a rich egomaniac, the fate of the world ended up at stake. But this time, he wasn't supposed to be the clumsy bystander, advancing really far into the tournament only to be knocked out by the villains, or by Yugi himself. This time HE was the chosen one.

And he had absolutely no idea how to play.

But Chrom's words brought up another friend, a friend he thought he'd lost a long time ago. It stirred up memories of him and Atem, Yugi's super-smart spirit friend who they had sent back to the afterlife. Come to think of it... Chrom reminded Joey a bit of Atem. Both were spirit advisors of a kind, but instead of a relic, Chrom's soul seemed to be infused to Joey's deck itself.

"I know what's gonna happen," he realized. "They're gonna strike at the tournament on Friday."

"Is that so?" Chrom asked. "Then that's where we'll be. Joey, I've been thinking about this... The Shepherds could use someone with a genuine commanding hand."

"Sucks for you," he moaned. "I know jack about this game."

At this, Chrom stiffened. Then, he let himself loose. "In that case," he said, "you will need training. We must seek out someone skilled in this field."

Joey nodded. "Lucky for us, my pals know this thing front, back, and center. Let's seek out a trainer!"

* * *

Meanwhile, a brawl of sorts was going on not far from there. A blonde woman and a robed man were going at each other with their decks playing and their disks loaded. Unfortunately for the blonde, things were not going her way.

Her field had been savaged. Her units wrecked. She'd considered herself at least an average player. Now, she was at rock bottom. She looked to her partner in crime, Caeda, who only looked back to her with fear in her eyes.  
"You have fought amicably, Miss Valentine," the Grimleal spoke. "But you have resisted long enough." He looked to the dark-armored paladin on his side of the field. "Xander! Crush this fool."

The Nohrian prince nodded. "As you command." He charged toward Caeda, blade raised to kill.

Mai, terrified, gripped her deck and drew. "I support..." She looked at the card she drew. "I parry your attack with the 30% might boost Draug's support gives Caeda. You can't take me out that easily!"

The robed figure laughed. "I see you've taken the care in preparing a final defensive support. Clever." He drew a card himself. "And, oh no, Xander cannot support with himself. I suppose that means that my attack fails..."

Mai breathed a sigh of relief.

"Unless..."

No. He wouldn't.

The robed man revealed a card to her. A third Xander card, sitting in his hand, was then deposited into his graveyard.

He would.

Xander's horse reared up its charge, rushing forward at blinding speed. He swept through Caeda's chest, cleaving her brutally in two with a Critical Hit. Gods, this game was unforgiving.

"And as your falcon knight no longer has any orbs to defend her, she dies and you lose!"

Caeda's hands gripped her steed as her legs fell away disgustingly. Her eyes closed in pain, and her hands went limp. Finally, her top half let go. Mai was left in horror.

"But fear not," the sorcerer laughed. "You shall soon join us in the destructive art!" He walked over to Mai as the holograms faded. He touched her head, sapping her very soul away with dark magic. "For as you fall, Master Grima rises!"

Finally, Mai collapsed on the ground. She was still breathing, but her eyes no longer showed any semblance of humanity. They were beginning to glow a faint, soulless purple.

"So are you going to help?"

She stood up, her mind no longer dwelling on the pegasus princess' demise or the dark knight who had cut her down. No longer was she thinking of the terror this man exuded, or the dark manner in which he spoke.

All she knew, now, was Grima.

* * *

Joey managed to arrange a meet-up with Tristan that night. The pair knew what their plans were.

"So here's the run-down," Joey said. "Serenity gave me one of them Ylisse decks, but I dunno how ta even play. Think you could help a buddy out?"

"You didn't seem too interested when Duke and Bakura were playing," argued Tristan.

"Yeah, that's because that wasn't a hands-on experience. This is good ol' trainin'. So..." He dropped to his knees. "Teeeach meee!"

"Man, this is pathetic," replied Tristan. "You asking me about this, I mean. But since we're pals, I guess I can help." He opened the door. "Come on in," he said. "It's about time my pal Roy got some fresh experience himself."

"Your pal... Roy?" asked Joey.

"My preferred Lord," replied Tristan. "He's young, but he's got some skill. So... are we gonna do this?"

Joey nodded. "Bring it on," he said. As soon as Tristan was out of earshot, though, he quickly drew his deck. "Hey, Chrom?" he asked. "You ever heard of a guy named Roy?"

Chrom appeared lost in thought. "Roy... Ah. The Young Lion of Elibe. I've heard stories about how he united the continent of Elibe into a grand army to stop King Zephiel of Bern. But to be facing him on the battlefield, as our first opponent...?"

What had they gotten themselves into?

Joey shrugged. "At least we're learnin' from the experts," he said. "I hope."

* * *

**And chapter.**

**Now, I know what you're going to say: WHY? Let me make that clear- I actually like Mai as a character, but she never has any... presence. I could have tried to give some to her, but, oh well. She always loses to make the villains look like more of a threat anyway. (PaniK, Melvin, Rafael)**

**Also, I guess I should point out a few things. First off... Tristan is actually competent at Cipher. He's built an FE6-focused deck. Mai, meanwhile, had an FE1-themed deck, specifically made of Marth's starting party, with Caeda as her main leader. That said, pegasus knights are NOT built to lead armies... Lastly, Grimleal grunt 1 is running a Conquest deck. If Xander's presence wasn't an establishing factor.**

**Anyway. Review, follow, etc. Honestly, I mostly care about the reviews- it tells me more about what you guys want from the story.**


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